


Moments

by Spero



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bickering, Comfort, Family, Fluff, Gen, Next Gen, Next Generation, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-13
Updated: 2012-11-16
Packaged: 2017-11-18 14:47:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/562231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spero/pseuds/Spero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moments dabbles and one-shots containing or relating to the Potter-Weasley Clan. Mostly fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. James and Lily: Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> AN: I posted these drabbles on FF about three years ago and they were by far my most popular, and to celebrate finally getting my Ao3 account I figured I would post these (after some editing) here. If you notice any mistakes I’ve missed, or have any suggestions (and/or prompts) please please let me know!

It was still a few hours before sunrise when she darted from the doorway across the hall into the room her eldest brother slept in. It was a trip the young girl had taken many times before, ever since she could walk; even in the near-pitch dark she was able to maneuver easily to peek over the edge of her brother's bed and poke him sharply in the arm. "James!" she hissed as loudly as she dared. "Are you awake?"

James -a gangly young teenager huddled under a mass of blankets and pillows- grumbled "I am now." Assuming that this was just like every other time his sister had woken him up in the middle of the night for a nightmare or monsters under the bed, he rolled over lifting the blanket for her to crawl in next to him. "Wa's wrong Lil?" He asked drowsily, opening one sleepy eye.

"I'm scared." Lily told him pulling the blankets up to her ears, like she was five, not eleven, and still believed that a simple blanket and her brother's presence could protect her from any danger.

He licked his lips sleepily and said "Why?" he was slowly going back to sleep -Lily could tell- so she pinched his nose between her thumb and finger. For a minute nothing happened and then he pulled away, and gave his sister a rather grumpy look"Okay," he said his voice dripping in irritation, "I'm listening."

"I don't want to go to school," she confessed, brown eyes filled with nervous fear.

Her brother frowned. "Sorry?" he asked hoisting himself up on his elbows to look at her. For the past two years, since Albus had left for Hogwarts, all Lily could talk about was how much she wanted to go. How she couldn't wait until the day when she would get on the train and go to the magical school just like all of her brothers and cousins. Yet now, the night before she would finally get her chance, she suddenly decided that she didn’t want to go? That didn’t sound like his prideful, stubborn, head-in-the-clouds sister. 

She could read the confusion easily on his face, her confession flooding out all at once, "I won't be good enough. I won't have any friends. I'll fail every examination. I won't be on the Quidditch team. I'll lose my house a billion points because I won't ever get a question right and, and-"

"Lily!" James cut her off quickly. "Lily, wait. Stop. Where's all this coming from?"

She looked at the pillow. "I'm not funny like you," she said. "I'm not great like Teddy, or smart like Al. I'm not brave like mom." I'm not him; It went unspoken, but both siblings heard it as clearly as if it had been screamed. 

"Lily," James began, "You're eleven. You haven't even learned the basic spells yet. How do you know how smart you're going to be, or what kind of witch you'll turn out to be?"

She pouted "What if I'm in the wrong house?"

James shook his head. "Lily, you'll be fine. You'll make lots of friends and you'll be an amazing witch. You'll almost definitely be on the Quidditch team. You're one of the best players in the family -excluding myself of course," he added trying to make her smile. It didn't work. He sighed. "Teachers don't take away house points if you get an answer wrong, only if you do something bad. You won't fail every exam." He tweaked her nose affectionately. "And who cares what house you're in?"

"You told Albus that if he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor you'd disown him." She reminded him.

"I was joking. He's not in Gryffindor now is he?" he asked her.  
"Well no..."

"And I haven't disowned him yet have I?"

"No, but..."

"No buts. I don't care what house you're in. You're still my baby sister, and I'll still love you."

Lily knew she was the only one that he would talk to like this. For everyone else he was a tough, fun-loving boy who had no time for sappiness of any kind. For Lily he was always forgot that rule. She was his Lily-bug, his baby sister. She knew he would do anything to make her happy as long as it was in private. He did have a reputation to uphold after all.

“Well... what if... what if I don’t. What if I don’t make the team, or don’t want to? What if I’m only good at rubbish classes like Divination or Muggle Studies?” 

He was already shaking his head, “Whatever you do or don’t do, and whoever you end up being won’t make a difference, your family will love and support you no matter what. You know we will. And Lily?" he said rolling onto one side so he could look directly into her chocolate brown eyes, the same eyes that he shared. She looked at him questioningly. "I'm not him either." he told her seriously.

With an appreciative smile she nodded curled up on the bed next to him, her nerves settled, giving away to exhaustion.

"James?"

"Humm?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

"James?" she asked again after a moment, sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

He whispered back, though he knew she was already sound asleep, "I love you too Lily."


	2. Surprise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Alright.” James announced, his voice tight as he glared down at his first victim, “What did you do?” 
> 
> Albus looked up from his potions essay with a raised eyebrow, "Do you mean in general or just today?" he asked dryly.

Many Quidditch players are a mite superstitious when it comes right down to it. If you have the time --and a rather large helping of patience-- just ask James Potter and he’ll be able to tell you ever famous player who’s ever had a lucky charm or pre-game ritual and what those charms and rituals were, right down to some of the very first players. 

Even James, a very skilled Quidditch player himself --though maybe not as infallible as he seemed to think-- refused to even enter the changing rooms if he wasn’t wearing his lucky necklace. 

There wasn’t anything remotely magical about it, it was just a simple thing: a thin, black, leather cord with three little charms hanging on the end --a small golden snitch given to him by Lily before his first game, a tiny silver carving of a hungarian horntail that Dominique had found in France, and a bronze knut that had been his uncle Charlie’s lucky charm--, that hung just below his chest. But as far as James was concerned without it he was sure to fail. 

He almost never took it off, and he was almost obsessively careful about where he put it when he did, so on the night before he headed back to school for his last year it went missing... well the unmanly shriek of panic almost certainly belonged to him (though he would deny it until he was blue in the face). 

After a few minutes of pacing and swearing his panic began to turn to rage. The only possible explanation, he reasoned, was that someone had stolen it and as he hadn’t seen anyone outside the family in a week, his suspect pool was not an overly large one. 

Roxanne and Dominique, his closest friends and confidants both knew where he hid it on the rare occasions when he took it off, but Dominique wouldn’t be getting back from France for at least another hour and Roxanne was working in her dads shop and had been for the majority of the day. 

Of course his parents knew his hiding spot, as well as his siblings, but his parents were both unlikely suspects so in the end, it really came down to Albus and Lily. 

“Alright.” James announced, his voice tight as he glared down at his first victim, “What did you do?” 

Albus looked up from his potions essay with a raised eyebrow, "Do you mean in general or just today?" he asked dryly.

"Don't play dumb. You know what I'm talking about"

Rolling his eyes Al turned back to his essay, "As hard as this may be for you to comprehend James, I am not all knowing. Astoundingly brilliant, maybe, but unfortunately omniscience, is not one of my many gifts. I’m sure there are plenty of times where things happen without my notice," he finished off the paragraph and tapped it with his wand to dry the ink "If you're looking for someone with all-knowing powers I suggest you go bother Molly," he looked up at his brother while he rolled up the parchment and explained slowly, like he was talking to someone of below average intelligence, "I have no idea what you're talking about." It was an amusing sight seeing the normally easy going James Potter quivering with rage, too bad he didn’t have a camera to capture the moment. 

“You’re a bloody prat, you know that?” James seethed wanting nothing more than to hex that inferior look right off the younger teens face. “I know you took it, my lucky necklace, now give it back before I hex you into next week.” 

For a moment Albus stared at him uncomprehendingly, but as the heated words sunk in a slow, devilish grin broke out on his face and he had to restrain the laughter bubbling up in his throat. “Someone stole your charm bracelet?” 

James could read the laughter on his brother’s face --though to be fair Albus was hardly trying to conceal it-- and it only served to enrage him more, "You did" he hissed "Don't deny it."

Albus rolled his eyes, “Why would I steal it? What possible reason could I have to steal the useless thing? Though,” his eyes danced with glee behind his glasses, “I must remember to thank whoever did this is extremely entertaining. Oh put your wand away, James,” he said his tone dry, “I’m the better duller and we both know it.” 

“We’ll see about--” James started, advancing on his brother, his wand drawn, when a loud CRACK announced the arrival of their god-brother.

"’Lo,” the blue-haired, yellow-eyed young man greeted cheerfully his arms full of poorly wrapped gifts, “Where’s your mum and dad? And Lil? I got- hold up. What’s going on here, then?” He eyed the younger boys suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at James’ raised wand. 

"Someone" James glared at his brother "Stole my lucky charm," he hissed anger leaking from every pore.

That was it, Al couldn't hold it in any longer, a loud cackle erupted from him and the tense moment was broken by a long peel of laughter.

Teddy rolled his eyes, “You mean that bloody useless thing you’re always wearing around?” She was probably going to kill him for even saying anything, but he supposed it was probably better that her surprise be ruined then to come home and find that her brother’s had killed each other over something so trivial. “Calm down you great blooming git. I know where it is.” 

James spon on him, his face an odd mixture of mutinous and confused. “How? You’ve only just gotten back from France.” 

“Funny enough, unlike some people,” he gave James a pointed look, “I actually manage to stay in contact with others when I’m away.” 

Albus, who had finally managed to quiet his amusement, chose then to speak up, “Alright then Ted, fess up, the suspense is killing me, who’s got it?”

Sighing he put the presents he had brought them from France on the plush couch next to him and pinched his nose. “She’s going to bloody kill me for this, but Lily’s got it. She went out to get you a new charm for your last year. She wanted to surprise you; she was going to put it back with the new charm before you even noticed it was gone.” 

It took a moment for James to absorb this information, instantly deflating when he did. “Oh, well, that’s alright then. Nice of her, if a bit too sentimental for my liking. ‘Spose I’ll have to wear it anyway, keep her happy.” They all knew he would treasure it like all the others, he was just too sodding proud to admit it, least of all to them.

“Oi!” Albus cried “Where’s my apology for your unfair and rude accusation for stealing the nancy thing in the first place?” he demanded giving a very good impression of wounded. 

“Sod off,” Was his brother’s cheerful response, his attention already on the pile of gifts Teddy had been carrying, “So, come on then, what’d you bring us?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one went through some major changes from its original incarnation, but it kept the main focus. I found I rather like writing a flustered or angry James, so there's a few more little ones featuring him in distress.


End file.
